Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane
Published by Scribner ISBN 9781982106980
Hardcover, $27, 390 pages

I read Mary Beth Keane's first novel The Walking People about the Irish immigrants in New York City who spent their days digging the subway tunnels. Her second novel, Fever, recounted the story of the Irish immigrant who became known as Typhoid Mary and was quarantined on an island off of New York City, and it is an astonishing piece of literature.

So I was excited to hear that she has written a third novel, Ask Again, Yes, which is also about Irish immigrants. Two young Irish cops, Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope, join the police force at the same time in 1970s New York City. They also end up moving next door to each other in a commuter town in upstate New York and start their families.

Francis and his wife Lena have three daughters, the youngest one Kate the same age as Brian and his wife Anne's son Peter. Lena attempts to befriend Anne, but Anne keeps to herself and Lena has her hands full with her three girls. Francis prefers to keep his distance from his former partner Brian, but the reader doesn't know why.

Soon it becomes clear that Anne has mental health issues, and Brian seems ill-equipped to handle them. Peter and Kate become closer, but Peter hides his mother's outbursts from Kate. A terrible tragedy devastates both families, and Peter moves away.

Peter's life becomes very different, and he falls out of touch with Kate, but she is never off his mind. We see what happens as they grow into adults, and come to terms with their feelings for each other.

Keane's novels fill the reader with all kinds of emotions, and never more so than in Ask Again, Yes. You feel like these characters are so real, so full of humanity, and you care deeply for them. My favorite character is Peter's uncle George, who does his best to help his nephew navigate a new life, even though he himself is young and not a parent. I just fell in love with George. ( I got to meet Mary Beth Keane recently at the Book Expo and I told her how much I adored George and she said she loved him too.)

Mary Beth Keane at Book Expo

The characters face problems that befall many- mental health issues, alcoholism, serious illness- and they draw strength from their family relationships. They are not perfect, they stumble and fall, and one main character just had me so full of anger. Keane's writing is just exquisite.

I can't say enough good about Ask Again, Yes except to tell you that you must read this book. It is perhaps the best book I have read this year, and one of my coworkers and I spent a long time gushing over it recently.  You know a book is great when you spend time thinking about the various characters and wondering where they are now. Mary Beth Keane can't write books fast enough for me.

Mary Beth Keane will be at Buffalo Street Books in Ithaca today June 13th speaking about her book.

My review of Fever is here.

Weekend Cooking- Fever by Mary Beth Keane

Fever by Mary Beth Keane
Published by Scribner ISBN 9781451693416
Hardcover, $26, 320 pages

March is Women's History Month and St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17th, so this Weekend Cooking post combines the two with a review of Mary Beth Keane's novel Fever, a fictional story about the infamous Typhoid Mary, an Irish immigrant who was blamed for the deaths of over twenty people from typhoid in New York City in the early years of the twentieth century.

Keane did a great deal of research on Mary Mallon, an Irish immigrant who became a cook for wealthy families in New York City. Her website contains an amazing time line of events with photos and information about the real Mary Mallon. It can found here.

Mary is an intriguing woman; she lives with, but does not marry, Alfred Briehof, a German immigrant with a drinking problem. Mary and Alfred love each other deeply, but Alfred's drinking and inability to hold a job creates friction in their relationship.

When several members of a family whom Mary cooks for die from typhoid fever, Dr. George Soper investigates and is determined to find Mary, whom he believes may be a carrier of the disease even though she exhibits no symptoms of typhoid herself. He finds Mary working for another family, and she is detained in an exciting passage of the novel.

Mary ends up quarantined on North Brother Island, where she is forced to live alone, even though she herself is not ill. The isolation wears greatly on her, and she despises Dr. Soper. Her only friend is a male gardener who brings her meals and newspapers, and has a bit of a crush on her.

But Mary misses her old life, and especially Alfred. She wonders how he is doing, who is caring for him and if she will ever be able to leave the island. She finds a lawyer willing to represent her and he works to get Mary released, all while Mary becomes tabloid headlines.

This is a fascinating novel, mostly because Mary is a remarkable character. She is tough, imposing and independent and her unconventional life with Alfred and her manner made her suspect in many people's eyes.

"If she had been the type of woman who saved her money, or gave it to someone who needed it more, a neighbor with children, perhaps, or the church, if she'd been a married woman who handed every dollar over to her husband, or better yet a married woman who didn't have earnings because she was taken up with the care of her own home, she'd never be in the situation she was in. She couldn't prove it, but it was the truth nonetheless."

The best historical fiction immerses the reader into a different place and time, and Fever does just that. You can see, smell, hear and taste New York City at the turn of the century. You get such a feel for  immigrant life, and if you enjoy food, the descriptions of Mary's cooking will indulge your senses.

"Back in her own silent kitchen, she cleared off the cluttered table and used it to prep. She filled the pot with water. She rubbed the small pork tenderloin she'd purchased half-price with plenty of salt and pepper, a bit of nutmeg she grated, a pinch of cinnamon, a dash of sugar, a teaspoon's worth of onion powder she measured with cupped hand."

Mary Mallon's story is so compelling and Keane tells it beautifully. It's the perfect novel to kick off Women's History Month.

rating 5 of 5

My review of Mary Beth Keane's The Walking People.

This post is part of Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking.  If you have anything related to food, cookbook reviews, novel or non-fiction book reviews, recipes, movie reviews, etc., head over to Beth Fish Reads and add your post. Or, if you want to read food related posts, head over to read what some interesting people have to say about food.